The Linkweavers
by Myriane and Kerendhor
Summary: Harry is being beaten by his relatives. Snape comes to the rescue. Will they be able to put aside their differences? Mainly HPDM and various other couples. Title will be explained in later chapters.
1. Default Chapter

First chapter: Be careful what you wish for

July 30th 11:30 pm

Harry was avidly waiting for his birthday to arrive. He was sick and tired of the beatings his uncle 'generously' showered on him. He hoped the Weasleys would come and get him out of here post haste.

He knew that this was a fool's hope as Dumbledore seemed intent on leaving him at the Dursleys 'for his own protection'. Ha! Dumbledore didn't know half of what was going on.

And Harry couldn't send him a letter; Hedwig was as trapped as he was. At least, she wasn't beaten, only a little starved. Thank God he was able to slip her scraps of food when he was doing his chores.

He was staring at his alarm clock. It read 11:59. Suddenly, it changed at 12:00.

"Happy birthday to me!" he sadly whispered. He wished that he would be taken out of there, no matter the means or consequences. He then went to sleep.

He dreamt of the time where Voldemort possessed him. Tossing and turning, he upsetted his fractured leg. He woke up screaming in pain.

A few seconds later, he heard the bolts on his door being unlocked. 'Oh crap!' he thought. His uncle bursted through the door, his ugly face purple with rage.

"Boy, when I am done with you, you won't even have a mouth to scream with, you bloody freak!"

He then proceeded to project Harry in the opposing wall with a great force. Harry's head collided with the wall. He barely heard the manical laughter of his uncle before darkness swallowed him.

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Albus Dumbledore woke up with a start as the mortal danger wards from 4 Privet Drive blared loudly in his chambers. 'Oh dear! Harry is in critical condition!"

He hastened to Severus's quarters, the only teacher present in Hogwart's for the summer. He bypassed the wards in his haste.

"Severus!" A bleary and disheveled Severus passed the bedroom door, yawning widely.

"What is it, Albus?"

"Harry is in mortal danger!"

Suddenly, Severus was very much wide awake. "What did this blasted boy do again?"

Albus sighed. "I must stress that these are the mortal danger wards meaning they go off only if he is in mortal danger. I must ask you to go investigate this matter immediately as I can't get out of the castle right now, Hogwarts' wards are being reconstructed and I must be present the entire time."

Severus groaned. "Must I really go? Knowing the damn boy, it's probably just a nosebleed."

"Must I remind you that you are the only Order member around here, except me and Pomfrey is out of the question, she will need to prepare the Hospital Wing."

Severus sighed. "Alright, Albus, but you owe me one."

Albus looked relieved. "Thank you, Severus, now off you go."

Severus nodded and got out his wand. He transfigured his nightclothes into his normal black robes.

Albus got a candy wrapper out of his pocket. "Here is a portkey."

The second he grabbed the portkey, he disappeared from view.

"Please be alright, Harry." The sad Headmaster's voice rang out in the now empty quarters.

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Severus arrived through a swirl of colors on the lawn of Four Privet Drive. He walked up to the door and whispered "Alohomora!" The front door opened silently to let him in.

Once inside, he lit his wand tip with a whispered "Lumos!". He walked silently through the house, searching for a hint as to where Harry was.

When he arrived to a padlocked door, he opened the door just to be sure Harry wasn't here because, surely Saint Potter can't be in there!

"Alohomora!" The door opened and the tang of spilt blood hit him squarely in the face. 'Oh god! It smells as if I am in a butchery!' He squinted at the inside of the room. He made out a form sprawled on top of the measly bed.

With growing dread, he slowly made his way towards the form. He relit his wand with a whisper. As the light let him see what was sprawled on the small bed, he couldn't retain his small gasp. Harry Potter was in a right state.

Bloody from head to toe, three of his members in an odd angle, his dislocated lower jaw but worst of all, his unhealthy pallor and deathly stillness. He trod over to him, checking his pulse. It was faint and his chest was almost still.

Cursing under his breath, Severus scooped up the boy in his arms, mindful of the boy's legs who seemed badly broken. He never apparated this fast in all his life.

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Meanwhile, Albus had roused Pomfrey from her sleep, just in case. They anxiously waited for Severus to return, fearing the worst.

They were rewarded by a horrifying sight: the Boy-Who-Lived all bloodied, deathly still in the arms of a livid and frantic Potions Master.

"He's fading fast. Please help him, Poppy, he's dying!" Poppy was shocked by two things.

Firstly, the battered state the poor boy was in. Secondly, was that worry she saw in Severus's eyes?

She quickly shook herself. There was a very important life to save, the hope of the Wizarding World. She whipped out her wand and started scanning the body placed on the bed in front of her. She gasped as she finished her scan, immediately bursting into activity.

"Out, both of you!" The two men let themselves be pushed out of the Hospital Wing. They sat on the benches just outside the doors, settling for a long wait.

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An hour later, the doors opened to let a weary and blood-stained Poppy.

"How is he, Poppy?" Albus asked.

"He is stable, though if he will recover is up to him, I've done what. There are some things even I can't heal." Poppy looked downright horrified.

"What happenend to him, Poppy?" Albus asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure he will walk again, at least not without a cane. He was badly starved. He has some old scars as if it wasn't the first time he was beaten. His right leg is broken at four different places, making recovery difficult. His left ankle is broken. He has a concussion, lots of bruises and scratches, a sprained right wrist, his lower jaw is dislocated, a few teeth are missing, the nose is broken and he has a black eye. And … God, I don't know if I can get it out… he … was … tortured." Poppy had two shining tracks down her face.

Shocked silence met her from both men, Albus recovering first. "Oh dear! It is worse than I feared."

Severus was livid. "You knew this was going on?"

"Of course not. I knew he was mistreated but not to this degree."

"Not to this degree? Merlin, the poor boy was dying, is probably going to be crippled for the rest of his life, was even tortured and you say you were aware of some abuse going on and you did nothing to stop it? Albus, you do realize that if some people know this, they would be after your blood? You do realize you just lost my trust?" The irate Potions Master was livid at the end of his tirade, the top of his wand having little red sparks flowing from it.

"I know, Severus. I know. I am most disgusted with myself too." The Headmaster looked weary and old, the twinkle gone from his eyes. "It was for his own good, he was the most protected where he was, or so I thought. An old man's mistake, which I hope he will be able to forgive." He slowly got up from his seat, trudging towards his office.

"Can I see him?" he quietly asked Poppy. She nodded silently, not trusting her voice.

He entered the Ward, steeling himself for what he knew to be quite a horrifying sight. Harry laid in the white bed, seemingly whiter than the sheets he was laying on. There were contraptions around his legs to hold them into place while the Skele-Gro worked its magic. His sprained wrist was bandaged tightly, so was his head. His breath was still a bit slow, though less strained than before. A strand of his hair had fallen on his forehead, resting against his eyelashes.

He approached the small form on the bed, brushing the strand out of the way, unable to restrain himself from doing so. He severely chastised himself mentally, he shouldn't do this. It wasn't _him_. 'Or is it?' said a snide little voice in the back of his head. 'Shut up, stupid! No it's not!' he snarled mentally at the voice. 'Talking to yourself now, are you?' it replied, with the usual biting sarcasm his voice carried. 'Oh, great! Even my conscience wins over me. And I'm talking to myself on top of it. Talking to a little voice in your head is definitely not a sign of mental sanity.' He chastised himself. 'Not that you had any to begin with.' Now the voice took the unmistakable tone of his father's harsh voice. 'Shut up! I will not have you rip the last shreds of my sanity away from me. You already have ripped enough. You are dead to me and to everybody anyway.' He snapped at his conscience. 'Oh Merlin! Now, I know that I'm insane. As if I didn't already suspect it.' He shook his head to clear it a bit, to maybe dislodge the voice that sounded suspiciously like his father. He succeeded to at least keep the memories of his father at bay.

A moan attracted his attention away from his inner torments. The dark haired boy's eyelashes were twitching.

"Poppy!" he called through the infirmary ward. Madam Pomfrey poked her head through the door to her office. "Oh good, he's waking!" she came throught the doorway, her wand at the ready.

"Ow… hurts… my head… why does everything hurts?" the boy muttered.

"Mr Potter? Come on now, open your eyes!" said Madam Pomfrey as she positioned herself at his bedside. One eye cracked open then the other. He winced at the blinding white surrounding him. Again. 'Back here already?' he thought to himself.

"Why, hello dear! Are you feeling alright?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I…" his raspy throat prevented him from saying another word.

Pomfrey waved her wand at a water pitcher on a nearby table. It lifted and poured water in a glass besides it. Another wave and the glass was sailing through the air towards him, not spilling a drop of its content. His bandaged hand grasped the glass and he quickly drank nearly all of its content in a few gulps.

"Thanks. I'm feeling much better than I was a few hours ago. I guess you found out what happened?" A nod from the nurse confirmed his fears.

He shamefully bowed his head, mutters being uttered in a mantra. "They're going to think I'm weak, they're going to think I'm pathetic" and so on and so forth. A hand came on his shoulder, startling him out of his self-pity state.

"Mr Potter, there's nothing to be ashamed of." Said the soothing voice of the nurse. "In fact, it's the ones who did this to you who should be ashamed of themselves. It's child abuse and it's a crime. They will definitely go into trial for this." Vehemently said Pomfrey.

Harry looked horrified by what she said. "I don't understand… why should they be on trial? They did nothing out of line. I deserved it." Harry said in a convinced manner.

"Mr Potter, would you kindly refrain from ever saying this again in front of me unless you wish those retched excuses for relatives to be mangled beyond recognition." Said Severus in his silkily threatening voice.

The boy recoiled a bit in surprise and fear. His attention had been solely focused on the nurse so he hadn't noticed his teacher sitting there.

"Severus, don't startle the poor boy. He's been through enough without you startling him to the point he will upset his wounds." Madam Pomfrey said in a reprimanding tone.

Severus had the grace to look the least bit sheepish. However, his pride wouldn't allow him to say sorry. While Madam Pomfrey talked to Severus, Harry had relaxed back into his original position.

She turned her attention back to him. "And now my dear, what you need the most is sleep, rest and a good alimentation." She tried her best to be cheerful but Harry saw through it.

"What happened? What are you trying to hide from me?" Harry was becoming frantic with worry.

Her false smile dropped completely, leaving only seriousness in its wake. "You need a peaceful night."

Now, Harry was truly scared. "I wanna know and I wanna know NOW. It concerns me so I should know. I don't want half-truths. I'm sick and tired of not knowing what happens to me, dammit!" Harry was screaming by the end of his tirade.

"Mr Potter, mind your language!" Severus's now exasperated voice rang out in the ward. "I have had enough of your attitude. No one has to put up with this kind of behaviour. It is unappropriate at best and incredibly rude at worst. I know that you have been abused, but it is not a reason to be treating Madam Pomfrey like this, who has just about saved your life, you bloody ungrateful whelp! Now sit still, let Madam Pomfrey administer the Dreamless Sleep Potion unless you want to be stupefied in order to do it! You won't have any less pain or bruises in the morning, I can assure you of that. Now, swallow the damn potion and SLEEP!" Severus's voice could be heard two halls down from the Infirmary ward, so it rang loud and clear to poor Harry's eardrums.

The boy had his gaze firmly on the bed sheet when he extended his hand to Madam Pomfrey.

Poppy, who had been glaring at Severus, gave him the potion.

Harry downed it in a few gulps, made a face at the taste and collapsed on the bed, the flask still in his hand.

Poppy retrieved the flask from the boy's loose hand. While passing past Severus, her hand flew to his face before she could contain herself. She hissed lowly, as if it could wake Harry: "You bloody bastard, you ever upset the poor boy or one of my patients like that ever again and I will find new and interesting ways to make your balls go out of your eye sockets, am I clear?"

Severus looked faintly green at the perspective. "Perfectly."

"Good. Because I won't repeat it and you won't have a warning next time." Poppy went in her office and closed her door so hard, it nearly cracked.

He looked at the boy to see two shining tracks down his face. The twinge of guilt sent him walking briskly to his chambers.

Author notes: how is it? Honestly? R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

Author notes: I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, I was so lost in creating the whole universe that I had a writing block for the story. But now, I'm back 'giggles a bit' mwahahahahahahahahaha! 'looks at readers' Erm… you saw nothing… -.-'

Chapter 2: Slow healing

Harry opened his eyes slowly to find himself blinded by the whiteness surrounding him. He closed his eyes, wincing.

All that happened yesterday came back to him with great detail. Fear gripped his heart tightly. What happened to him? For it had to be bad for Madam Pomfrey to be this upset.

He clenched his eyes hard. He would not cry. He would not cry. A lone tear made its way down his cheek. He wiped it angrily.

"Ah, you're awake!" Harry's eyes opened briefly to look at Madam Pomfrey. Her face was a mix of guilt, horror and a bit of relief.

"Hello, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Harry, look at me…" Madam Pomfrey's voice was soft. "Harry… please… sigh … alright. If you don't want to look at me, it's OK. I will say what I have to say either way. Don't pay any attention to what Severus said. It was cruel and unnecessary, especially after all you've been through already. As for why I didn't want to tell you what I will tell you now, it's because I wanted you to have a worry free night of sleep, although it didn't really work. I'm truly sorry if I disturbed you, child. Now, what I have to say is that some of your wounds may hot heal fully because they're either too severe or too old. The lashes on your back will leave marks and probably be painful for a long while. The fractures in your kneecap are too old and multiple for me to heal them completely. I'm sorry to say that to you after all you've been through but you will probably have to walk with a cane for the rest of your life."

Harry, who was silently keeping his sobs in check, collapsed into tears. Pomfrey sat him up slowly and gave him a motherly hug, making shushing sounds while rocking him. A few tears of her own escaped her eyes. Her heart was crying out for this poor child. "It'll be OK… shhhh… everything's going to be alright… I promise… shhhh…" Eventually, his sobs slowed down to a few hiccups, then to nothing. She continued to pass her fingers through his unruly hair until he calmed down completely.

"I'm sorry, I soaked your uniform…" Harry said in a small voice.

"Don't worry, it doesn't bother me at all. You looked like you needed it. Now, I will apply some healing salve on your back to help with those lashes." Pomfrey said in a caring voice.

"But I thought you said you could not heal them…" Harry asked, frowning.

"This healing salve will help keep the infections away until they are fully closed." She helped him putting off his pyjamas top. Then, she carefully applied the salve, working it in the skin. After she was done, she helped him putting his top back on. "There are some persons very eager to see you." Madam Pomfrey said in a cheerful voice. She went to open the wooden doors leading outside the ward. "Come in, you two, he's ready."

Ron and Hermione almost ran to Harry's bedside in their haste to see him alive and well. Madam Pomfrey had a smile at their eagerness to see him. "Are you alright? What happened? Was it the Dursleys? What did they do to you?"

A barrage of questions assaulted him from both mouths, sometimes in sync, sometimes not. He made a stop gesture to slow the onslaught of frantic questions. When they paid no mind to his gesture, he tried to scream "Stop!" but his voice refused to cooperate. He held his hand up and to his surprise, their voices stopped to be heard.

Harry looked at his hand, flabberghasted. His friends held their throats and were glaring at him. He tried to put the Silencio off them but it didn't work. Now their mouths were rapidly moving though not a sound was heard.

"I don't know how I did that, sorry. All I know is that I wanted both of you to shut up, and you did. I didn't know I could do wandless magic unless in desperate situations, honest. And the worse is that I can't seem to get it off." Harry said in a sheepish voice.

They glared a bit more at Harry and then went to see Madam Pomfrey who had meanwhile gone into her office to complete Harry's file (I believe that the Infirmary should have a sort of registry on which medical acts she performed, a bit like that of an hospital's archives (I studied for a year and a half in medical archieves program, so I'm a bit familiar with the whole system)).

Hermione knocked on the door, only to find that the Silencing Charm affected her whole body. Turning towards Harry, she glared at him once again. She looked about to find a metal cane that had been placed on the wall beside the door. She used it to knock on Madam Pomfrey's office's door, succeeding this time to produce enough noise to force the nurse to open the door.

"Why do you have Ha… this cane in your possession?" she asked in a puzzled voice, quickly recovering her near slip of the tongue by hardening her tone near the end. Hermione gestured towards her throat to signify she had been Silenced. Madam Pomfrey nodded her head in understanding of the situation. She waved her wand and suddenly Hermione's voice was back. Ron was right behind her, gesturing towards his throat. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand again and Ron could talk.

"Now, what happened? Why were you Silenced and by whom?" Harry's embarrassed voice interrupted both students.

"It was me. I don't know how I did but I did."

"What exactly did you do, Harry?" Dumbledore's voice surprised him so bad, he had the impression to have jumped out of his skin.

"Harry, I suspect that you did wandless magic." Said Dumbledore. "And willingly, even though you did not know how. You willed it to happen and it happened. This kind of magic hasn't been seen since Merlin himself and some of his descendants. It was believed to have disappeared centuries ago! It consumes a great deal of magic and only someone with lots of magic that only a descendant of Merlin or one of the Founders could possess to do that simple spell." Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, in shock. Harry himself had a look of complete surprise.

Then his brain began to process the information. . "So, this means I'm even more special. When am I ever going to be normal? When will I stop being famous?"

By the end of this tirade, his eyes had begun to sparkle with unshed tears. "I'm so sick and tired of all this. I just want to be normal. Is that so much to ask?" One tear had made its way down his face. He wiped it angrily. "Dammit, why am I so pathetically weak? No wonder I couldn't stand up to my uncle." Dumbledore tried to say something but Harry interrupted him before he could say a single word. "No, just don't say anything. I don't want to hear it. Can I be alone, please?"

Ron tried to protest but Hermione shoved her elbow into his ribs, effectively shutting him up. All three reluctantly got out of the Infirmary Ward, Ron casting one last glance to his best mate. When he was finally all alone, his thoughts took on the speed of a rollercoaster.

'WHY? So fucking tired of all this! Why is it always me? I never wanted any of this. Most people would give anything to have that much power. Why would Dumbledore know about this 'descendants' shit? Does he know more than he let on, as fucking usual?" Harry closed his eyes against the tears that already traveled down his face. He fully gave in to the tears as he rolled over on his side.

Ron and Hermione, after being shoved out of the Infirmary, went by the lake to calm down and enjoy the view the sunrays playing upon the little waves on the surface of the lake offered. Both of them were silently gazing at the scenery when Hermione whispered:

"I hope he'll be okay. I had no idea about him being a descendant of some of the most powerful wizards of all times. It must be hard to take especially after all that happened to him. I sure wished I hadn't that little bit of empathy because if what I sensed coming from him was just a fragment of what he's feeling right now….."

Hermione couldn't finish her sentence as the sobs took over her body. Ron looked awkwardly at Hermione, wondering what to do. He did as her mother did with Ginny sometimes, he hugged her close to him and passed his fingers through her bushy hair, whispering sweet nothings as he did so. Frankly, there was nothing else he could do…

Author notes: Hope it was to your expectations…. Sorry it wasn't longer… I promise to update before 2005 finishes…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I was blind…

While he was sleeping, Harry dreamt of a shining greenish silver light, surrounding him completely. A sibilant voice was telling him all about something called "Linkweavers". 'Each world has six Links stabilizing it between six other worlds. Each Link needs two Linkweavers maintaining it or 'weaving' it when a Link breaks, generally because of a Linkweaver's death. When that happens, a person close to the deceased Linkweaver is chosen to pursue the Linkweaver's duty. The magic of the Links, the energy fueling them, chooses the most appropriate recipient of itself. A mark shaped like a predator's teeth will appear on a random body part…' The voice stopped as he slipped in another dream.

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Dumbledore sighed defeatedly as he closed his office's door behind him. "How could I have been so blind?" he muttered tiredly. "I thought he was going to be safe there, maybe not pampered but how could I have known?" he sighed as he slowly sat down.

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Hermione wiped the tears from her face, sniffling. Ron stiffened a bit, unsure of what to do. After all, he still had his arms around her shaking form. He wasn't used to it. Finally, she rose from his arms herself. "Thank you." She whispered through her raspy throat. "No problem." He said softly through his red strands. He missed Hermione's gaze on him as his hair was hiding his eyes from view. "I think we should go back to the Burrow. It's getting late." Hermione said as she got up, glancing at the near-setting sun. "Yes, you're right." He got up, his hair still hiding his eyes. She looked at his back as he began walking towards the castle. Snapping out of her staring, she briskly walked in his direction to catch him.

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Harry's body began glowing and bucking all alone in the Infirmary Wing. Soon, his body was engulfed in a soft grey light. In the blink of an eye, Harry was gone.

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Severus paced in his lab, pondering what to do to take his mind off a certain Gryffindor. He browsed his library of potions books and found one he always quite enjoyed about a few rare potions that some of the ingredients were unknown even to him (A/N: For more details, look at my websites in the Potions area, even if it's not complete…)

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As Harry woke up, he lazily looked around to find he was no longer in the Infirmary but in a room with walls emitting a soft grey light. Looking down on himself, he saw that he had changed a bit but nothing too flashy. For one, he found his body glowing lightly, the same as the walls surrounding him. His hands were glowing more than the rest, particularly the palms of his hands. He noticed that his injuries were no longer visible and felt as he carefully moved each of his limbs, expecting the overwhelming pain he had felt yesterday. He also noticed that his fingernails were a bit longer than he remembered. As he shook his head to clear away the hair in his eyes, he noticed that it wasn't black anymore and a few inches longer than normal. In fact, it was silver. He stared in shock as he saw that his hair was made of silver because it reflected the glowing lights in his palms.

He heard a slight slythering sound behind him. He turned on himself quickly to face whatever it was. He gasped in awe at the being right in front of him. It was a shining silver snake. In fact, it looked as if its scales were made out of pure silver, albeit with a slight greenish tinge. Its eyes were emerald green. When it hissed, it was as with any other snake, he could understand what it said.

"Hello, Linkweaver." Harry froze as he heard the voice in his head as well. He also recognized the voice from his earlier dream.

"Who are you? Why am I here? Why is everything glowing, including you and I? How did you end up in my dream?" Harry ended the string of questions with a slight whimper. He was feeling so many emotions at the same time he was barely making sense of his own thoughts.

"I am Dora, your fellow Linkweaver in maintaining the Link between Gemscale and Earth. You are here to allow me to teach you everything you need to know about your new duty. We are in what would resemble our Link once it is formed, which is why everything glows. Oh and before you ask me that question, I am a Sermetallis, more precisely a Silver Sermetallis."

The silence was awkward while Dora let Harry process all she had said. Harry finally breached the silence. "From whom did I inherit those powers?"

"I do not know what link he had with you but it had to be a strong one. The previous Linkweaver was Sirius Black." Harry turned his head away as if physically struck. Tears began to well in his eyes. He backed away in a corner of the glowing room, drawing comfort from the wall as if he was cocooned in a warm blanket of love. He realized as he opened his eyes that Dora was nowhere to be seen. However, his skin had taken a silver shine, as if cloaked in the magical energy surrounding him. Another wave of comfort hit him gently and he stayed that way until he fell asleep.

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A/N: Sorry it wasn't longer, with the holidays and all, I had to cut it short…


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi guys! Sorry if I didn't update earlier, damn writer's block!

Chapter 4: In training, missing…

"Aaaaah! Where is he?" Madam Pomfrey's voice rang out in the now empty Infirmary.

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Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, finishing up this year's paperwork. His peaceful task was interrupted when he heard frantic footsteps in his stairs followed by a loud tapping on his door.

"Come in!" he said worriedly. Pomfrey quickly got in and, not even waiting for Dumbledore to say anything, she said: "Mr. Potter is no longer in the Infirmary. All I found in his bed were his bandages and pyjama!"

For the first time since Poppy knew Albus, she saw him utterly and completely flabberghasted.

"What are we going to do, Albus? Where could he have gone? With his injuries, there is no way he could have gotten out of his bed by himself."

Dumbledore had partly recovered from the shock. "It couldn't have been Death Eaters, the wards would have warned me. Same thing for a Portkey…" He was interrupted by a bright light blinding him.

"Do not worry. The one called Harry Potter is alive and well. He will be returned in a month, in a better condition than the one he was found in." A being of pure magical energy was in his office! And it did not sound happy…

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When Harry woke up, he was in a bed with warm covers. He slowly opened his eyes to realize he was still in the glowing room. However, the room was no longer empty. First, he was in a bed when he distinctly remembered falling asleep sitting in a corner. There was also a desk with a chair and with a stash of parchment, his quill and his ink bottle.

Hedwig was in a suspended cage in the corner where he fell asleep. "Hedwig! Oh, girl, how happy I am to see you!"

He got out of the bed and suddenly noticed he was naked underneath. He spotted a dresser and put on a pair of pants and a shirt. And he realized everything around was still glowing. Even the dresser or the cage holding Hedwig. He heard a slythering sound and he turned around to face Dora.

"Hello, Linkweaver. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I am," Harry answered to Dora.

"Good," replied the hissing Sermetallis. "Now, we can begin your training."

"T-t-training?" Harry stuttered out with difficulty.

"Yes, that is why you're here. We are aware that a training anywhere in your world but here wouldn't bear the expected results." Dora said in a matter-of-fact tone. "With this training, you will be better abled to complete the other task you are fated to undertake."

"You mean… that I would be more able to protect my friends from Voldemort?"

"You can see it that way." Dora said in an amused voice. "In fact, what I'm here for is to teach you how to access your core, how to use the raw magic inside of and around you, helping you come to terms with your inheritance and of course, how to defend yourself, either magically or physically."

"All that?" Harry said in a disbelieving voice.

"Yes, all that and possibly more, if we have the time…" Dora said. "Oh and one more thing, I will teach you about my world, its cultures and customs as you will have to go there once in a while. Maybe, a Sermetallis will be willing to bond with you…"

"I wasn't aware of those bonds, between humans and Sermetallis, I mean…"

"There are all kinds of bonds between you and other people. The bond between you and your parents and the one between you and magic are the first ones ever a wizard from your World will complete. There's also the bond between you and your friends or your enemies. In fact, those two are quite similar, in the magic sense, it's only the emotion that changes. To the trained eye, the bonds surrounding a person are endless, like a web of connections between people. Our Worlds are Linked in precisely the same way. Every other World is connected to others. The ones with less connections are less stable. Same thing applies to people."

"I see. So, you and I have to share a bond and develop it to the point of it being a Link?" Harry asked, trying to process the information.

"You're close. We do have to create and develop a Link and we do have to share a bond for it to exist, but there are Links formed between two Worlds whose customs are so different from each other, their Links are weakened by it or even broken. Like, for example, the Link between Ruby and Amethyst was broken a few years ago because of the sheer differences between those two Worlds. Ruby is chaotic and filled with very aggressive red reptilians while Amethyst is populated by a lavender-skinned people who does not tolerate war and violence from any of its inhabitants."

"Okay, but isn't that bad for the general stability of the Universe? I mean, didn't someone think about maybe changing the Links to Worlds more suited to the mutual understanding of each other?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but it did not work. I don't know why. Nobody knows why because they never returned from their visits to other Worlds. And we don't know who's behind it." Dora said sadly.

"Are you okay? You sound really sad." Harry said worriedly.

"Yes. I'm okay, it's just that I knew the last one who tried. It was my mate. No matter how hard I tried to stop him, he went on, the stubborn diamond-head! I know he's dead because I felt our bond break. Death is the only way to sever such a bond, a soulmate bond." Harry was sure that had Dora been human, she would be crying. She slythered away, exiting from the room, passing through a wall, but not before saying: "I will see you tomorrow for the beginning of your real training." in a broken voice.

He was feeling sad for her. It couldn't be easy to lose a soulmate. He sat down at the desk to take notes on the matter he just received. Like that, he could read it again if he had a blank…

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A/N: Dum, dum, dum. R&R!


End file.
